The Sustainability Glossary

Biodynamic agriculture

Biodynamic agriculture is a form of organic farming with holistic and ecological elements, based on the teachings of Rudolf Steiner. This approach sees agriculture as a whole of interwoven systems that depend on each other: from soil fertility to growth of plants and livestock care, up to human well-being. The main certification the worldwide biodynamic certification is Demeter.

Organic farming

Organic farming is a method of agricultural production that limits the use of pesticides and synthetic fertilizers, genetically modified organisms, antibiotics, and growth hormones, among others. The main organic certifications include national or international labels whose requirements are established by law, and private labels that go beyond minimum requirements established by these national or international standards.

Regenerative agriculture

An agricultural approach that seeks to improve and sustain soil health by restoring organic matter, increasing its fertility and productivity. The main goal is soil health of the soil: by improving soil health, regenerative agriculture aims to increase yields agricultural and resilience in the face of climate instability. Regenerative agriculture can be used on any geographical land and applies to both livestock and crops.

Agroecology

Agroecology is defined by the OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) such as “the study of the relationship between agricultural crops and the environment”. It is an approach that integrate the needs of agricultural production with the criterion of environmental preservation. Agroecology does not use a specific cultivation method: it employs different techniques (organic farming, biodynamic, natural, permaculture) and advanced agronomic technologies to ensure the coexistence of agriculture and biological diversity.

Agroforestry

Agroforestry is an agricultural approach that involves the cultivation of trees, shrubs, and crops annual on the same land, exploiting complexity similar to that of a forest, to promote the stability of the agricultural system and increase its resilience.

Carbon Footprint Analysis

Carbon footprint analysis is an assessment of the total direct and indirect emissions of greenhouse gases greenhouse gases caused by a person, product, event, organization, or activity. To ensure that the analysis is scientifically sound and meets internationally agreed requirements, carbon footprint analysis must comply with a recognized international standard international standards for calculating greenhouse gases, such as the Greenhouse Gas Protocol or the standard ISO 14064.

Sustainability Report

See also Impact Report.

The sustainability report is a voluntary, non-financial reporting document in which an organization communicates its environmental, social, and corporate governance performance, and the progress it has made over the year.

Biodiversity

Biodiversity is the collection of all living organisms present on the planet. The presence of a wide variety of animals, plants, and microorganisms is essential to ensure that the ecosystems we depend on reliance for our continued survival continue to function and thrive. Higher levels of terrestrial biodiversity is found in tropical forests, which contain over 80% of species animals, plants, and fungi worldwide. Pollution levels, excess nutrients in some habitats, intensive agriculture, fires, soil erosion, desertification, and the effects of climate change represent the main threats to biodiversity.

Biodiverse Ingredients

Varieties of plant and animal ingredients different from the limited selection of the most commonly used in modern diets (such as rice, wheat, pork, and chicken). For examples of plants and fungi that can be used as alternative ingredients to promote biodiversity, see the Knorr Future 50 Foods report.

Land Use Change

Any way in which human activity modifies how natural landscapes are used, for example by clearing forests for agriculture or building. Land use change is a significant factor in climate change, as it destroys natural habitats, biodiversity and environments such as forests and wetlands that absorb carbon from the atmosphere.

Climate Change

“Climate change” refers to long-term changes in temperatures and weather patterns meteorological. These changes can occur naturally, for example through variations of the solar cycle. However, starting from the nineteenth century, human activities have been the main factor behind climate change, essentially attributable to combustion of fossil fuels such as coal, oil, and gas.

These significant changes include the increase in average global temperatures, changes in precipitation and wind patterns, glacier melting, and sea level rise. This phenomenon is mainly caused by the increase in greenhouse gas emissions in our atmosphere, largely attributable to human activities that require the combustion of fossil fuels fossil fuels such as, for example, energy production, agriculture, industry, and transport.

Carbon capture or sequestration (carbon capture)

These are projects and initiatives aimed at absorbing existing carbon emissions in the environment, such as planting trees or restoring natural habitats (reforestation or reforestation), or to protect existing carbon reservoirs (i.e., natural environments such as forests or oceans that naturally store carbon).

Actions for carbon sequestration can take place within the value chain of an activity (insetting actions), for example financing the electrification of the fleet of delivery from suppliers or supporting agricultural projects to improve soil health by promoting capture. Outside of one's own value chain (offsetting actions) one can buying carbon credits that are then traded with investments in such projects. When an amount of credits equivalent to the amount of greenhouse gases emitted is purchased, this is called compensation or neutralization. Although purchasing carbon credits may seem like a a simple solution for companies to "offset" their emissions, these practices must be must be treated with great caution. For more information, see the definition of “Carbon credits and verified credits”.

Carbon credits and verified credits

A carbon credit is a certificate or commercial permit that represents the right to emit a certain amount of CO2 or an equivalent amount of other greenhouse gases. Verified credits refer to credits evaluated and monitored by a third party.

Although purchasing carbon credits, and particularly promoting in/offsetting (see “Carbon capture or sequestration”) may seem a simple solution for companies to "offset" their emissions, these practices must must be treated with great caution. Currently, in fact, there are not enough carbon credits and carbon capture projects worldwide to absorb all greenhouse gas emissions that we produce globally. Added to this is the fact that for carbon capture projects that many misleading information and ineffective solutions are sold.

Supporting efforts to capture carbon dioxide is important, but priority must always be given to actions to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and, if supporting capture projects carbon dioxide, make sure this happens within a broader initiative to contribute to the global zeroing of emissions, rather than trying to offset own emissions.

To ensure credibility, look for projects verified by third parties, for example by Gold Standard or Verra.

Decarbonization

Decarbonization means the joint action of governments, companies, or even individuals to reduce their own carbon emissions, for example by cutting the use of fossil fuels which are among the main causes of the climate crisis.

Deforestation

This is defined as the removal of forest areas from land that is then converted to other uses, such as agriculture or urbanization, or timber harvesting. Among these, agriculture, through agricultural and livestock activities is currently the main cause of deforestation. The destruction of forests, especially tropical ones, not only contributes to climate change climate (as these remove and store large amounts of carbon dioxide that would otherwise would be released into the atmosphere), but also to the massive loss of biodiversity through destruction of natural habitats, threats to indigenous populations, and alterations of the water cycle.

Desertification

Desertification occurs when the soil loses its organic matter and degrades due to various factors, including human activities such as intensive agriculture. Deforestation, the use of unsustainable agricultural practices and overgrazing of livestock are among the main direct causes desertification. These practices cause soil erosion, put pressure on water resources and cause the loss of biodiversity. Consequently, the soil loses much of its its stable organic matter and becomes more fragile, less able to capture light and heat, to nourish microorganisms and plants.

Circular economy

The circular economy is an economy in which instead of extracting resources, using them, and then throwing them away (linear model), these are used and reused, thus transforming waste into resources according to a closed and circular model.

Ecosystem

An ecosystem is the set of living organisms and non-living substances with which the former interact through exchanges of materials and energy within a defined physical area.

Energy efficiency

Energy efficiency represents a set of strategies, practices, and technologies aimed at optimize energy use, reducing waste and improving efficiency in processes of production, processing, and use of energy.

Greenhouse gas emissions

Emissions of gases responsible for global warming and climate change. The main gases greenhouse gases (GHG) are carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide. Other greenhouse gases less common, but still with a strong climate-altering effect, are hydrofluorocarbons, commonly used for air conditioning and refrigeration, in the production of insulating foams and in aerosol. The main sources of greenhouse gas emissions are electricity and air conditioning, transportation, manufacturing industry, agriculture, and forestry.

Direct emissions

These are emissions that come from sources under the direct control of an organization.

The GHG Protocol considers the direct emissions of an activity within Scope 1.

Indirect emissions

These are emissions that come from emission sources not under the direct control of an organization, but are still indirectly related to the company's activity.

This type of emissions falls under Scope 2 and Scope 3 of the GHG Protocol, and are more difficult to identify and calculate compared to direct ones.

Renewable energy

Renewable energy comes from natural sources that constantly renew themselves without running out, such as solar or wind energy. The term can also refer to energy coming from a source that renews itself in a short period of time (for example, biomass from wood chips).

The main types of renewable energy are:

• solar energy (energy obtained from the sun)
• wind energy (energy obtained from the wind)
• geothermal energy (energy obtained from the earth's heat)
• hydroelectric energy (energy obtained from water)
• marine energy (energy obtained from ocean currents)
• biomass energy (energy obtained from biological materials)

ESG

The acronym ESG refers to three main areas, specifically Environmental, Social and Governance. Each pillar refers to a specific set criteria such as environmental commitment, respect for corporate values, and whether a company acts with accuracy and transparency. Reporting of such criteria is done through the ESG report, that companies adopting the ESG model voluntarily produce.

The ESG report provides evaluation elements, especially for investors, to help find companies with values aligned to their own and to consider not only economic performance, but also environmental, social, and corporate governance aspects for their investment decision.

Supplier

Person or organization that sells or provides goods or services to customers. Supply chains can to be made up of many levels of suppliers: from those you purchase directly from (level 1), to the suppliers from whom the suppliers themselves purchase (level 2 and beyond). When we request information about your suppliers within the Food Made Good Standard, we refer to level 1 suppliers with whom you do business directly.

Supply Agreement

An agreement between a buyer and a supplier in which the supplier commits to selling to the buyer goods and/or services under agreed conditions.

Supplier Code of Conduct

A written document that defines the behaviors a company expects from its suppliers. May include commitments related to compliance with ethical and social and environmental sustainability standards.

Greenhouse Gases

Gases in the atmosphere act like the glass of a greenhouse: they trap the sun's heat and prevent them from dispersing into space, thus causing global warming. The greenhouse effect greenhouse effect causes the Earth's surface temperature to be higher than it would be if there were no were greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, allowing life on the planet. Many greenhouse gases are present naturally in the atmosphere. However, human activity contributes to its accumulation and increases global warming.

As a result, snow and precipitation patterns change, average temperatures rise, and extreme weather events, such as heatwaves and floods, occur more frequently.

There are different types of greenhouse gases and their contribution to global warming varies. Carbon dioxide carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), and nitrous oxide (N2O), among others, are naturally present in the atmosphere, but they are also generated by human activities.

Fluorinated greenhouse gases are the most powerful and persistent type of greenhouse gases emitted from human activities. They can produce a greenhouse effect thousands of times greater than CO2.

Greenwashing

Methods of communication and promotion of companies and organizations aimed at increasing reputation through environmental sustainability initiatives that, however, lack concreteness and tangibility.

Carbon Footprint

The carbon footprint is the total amount of direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions caused by a person, product, event, organization, or activity. These emissions do not are limited to carbon dioxide but include methane, nitrous oxide, and any other gas climate-altering. The carbon footprint is measured in equivalent units of carbon dioxide or CO2eq.

Emission reporting (carbon footprint reporting) is divided into "scopes" (from the English Scope), as defined by the Greenhouse Gas Protocol Corporate Accounting standard and Reporting. Numerous tools and calculators are available to help companies calculate the carbon footprint and thus begin to address the emissions problem. For further information, see the definition of Carbon Footprint Analysis, "Scope 1", "Scope 2" and "Scope 3".

Water footprint

The water footprint is the total amount of fresh water used directly or indirectly by a person, an organization, or a business, or to produce a product.

Local

In procurement, local means coming from the vicinity of an organization. There is no globally agreed definition of what distance determines the origin local. As a general rule, the SRA defines local products as those coming from a radius of 160 km (100 miles) if your business is located in a large city, or within a radius of 80 km (50 miles) from your business for the rest of the country.

Buying locally or supporting local initiatives and organizations strengthens the fabric of the local community and ensures that money is invested in the local economy. However, it is important note that the environmental impact of locally sourced products is not necessarily lower than than products that travel longer distances. In the case of food, the way these products are grown and transported makes a significantly greater difference in their environmental footprint.

Biodegradable and compostable materials

Biodegradable materials are those that can be broken down into simpler substances, up to become water, methane, and carbon dioxide through the action of natural microorganisms. The degradation biodegradable materials degrade naturally thanks to the enzymatic action of microorganisms without releasing pollutants during the process, in about 6 months.

Compostable materials are those that, through the composting process, are transformed into compost. The degradation of compostable materials occurs in about 3 months.

Compostability uses biodegradability, so a compostable material is always biodegradable, but the opposite is not true. If used for the right applications and disposed of properly, these materials can offer environmental benefits. It is therefore important that both staff and customers commit to properly disposing of these types of products: compostable packaging does not should not be dispersed into the environment, but must be disposed of in the organic waste for composting to be treated in industrial composting facilities. Biodegradable products, especially plastic ones, must be disposed of in the appropriate waste bin, as specified by the manufacturer or very common.

Monoculture

Monoculture means the cultivation of a single crop during the year, or for multiple consecutive years. This agricultural approach can strongly impact biodiversity and the resilience of ecosystems.

Carbon Neutrality or Net Zero

Carbon neutrality, also known as net-zero or carbon neutrality, refers to to a balance where the amount of greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere equals the amount offset (removed or avoided) within a certain period. The 2015 Paris Agreement, signed by 194 countries, set the goal of keeping the average global temperature increase below 2°C compared to pre-industrial levels.

Recent IPCC reports indicate that global warming must be limited to 1.5°C to avoid the worst effects of climate change and international consensus is moving towards this goal. This would mean achieving net zero CO2eq emissions by 2050.

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

The 17 Sustainable Development Goals are a series of 17 interconnected goals, defined by the United Nations Organization in 2015 on a set of important development issues including the fight against poverty, the elimination of hunger, and combating climate change. Also known as the 2030 Agenda, a document that recognizes the close link between human well-being, the health of natural systems, and the presence of common challenges for all countries.

Permaculture

Permaculture is an integrated agricultural design method that combines ecology, geography, anthropology and sociology. Permaculture is based on design, conscious conservation and ethics of productive ecosystems that have the diversity, stability, and flexibility of natural ecosystems.

Plant-based

Foods derived from plants and fungi rather than animal sources. These include fruits and vegetables, cereals, legumes, mushrooms, nuts and seeds, vegetable oils, herbs and spices.

Procurement policy

Also known as a purchasing policy, a procurement policy is a written document which defines the principles and standards used by the organization for the purchase of goods and services. It may include guidelines on expectations related to the product, purchasing processes, type and supplier behavior and ethical and social and environmental sustainability standards.

Sustainable agricultural practices

La FAO definisce le pratiche agricole sostenibili come quelle che "alimentano ecosistemi sani e support the sustainable management of land, water, and natural resources, ensuring at the same time global food security. To be sustainable, agriculture must meet the needs of present and future generations regarding its products and services, ensuring at the same time profitability, environmental health, and social and economic equity".

Examples of sustainable agricultural practices include agroforestry, eliminating the use of fertilizers chemicals, pesticides and insecticides, crop rotation and livestock grazing.

Impact report

See also Sustainability report.

The impact report is a document reporting social, environmental, and economic performance of an organization. This tool contains data, information, infographics, tables illustrating the overall consequences, on society and the environment, of all the activities of an organization. In other words, the non-economic consequences of economic actions, as in the case of the carbon footprint.

Global warming

Global warming is the phenomenon of rising average Earth temperatures due to the accumulation in the atmosphere of greenhouse gases such as CO2 and methane that trap heat coming from the sun and cause the increase in temperature on the Earth's surface.

Soil health

A healthy soil contains essential nutrients, water, oxygen, and countless bacteria, fungi, and other microorganisms. It is a living ecosystem that is essential for growing food and nutritious and good quality forage, as well as storing carbon in the soil. In many countries, modern intensive agricultural methods (including the use of pesticides and chemical fertilizers, crops with rapid growth and high productivity and monoculture) have severely depleted the soil.

In contrast, agricultural methods such as agroecology, conservation agriculture, organic farming, zero-tillage agriculture (no till) and agroforestry can protect and restore soil health, while improving its productivity.

Scope 1 (emissions)

All direct greenhouse gas emissions produced from sources under the direct control of a company, for example emissions from on-site fuel combustion for heating or cooking food and emissions from fuel used in company vehicles. owned.

Scope 2 (emissions)

Indirect greenhouse gas emissions resulting from the purchase and use of electricity, heat and steam that the company uses in its facilities. These emissions are considered indirect because are generated off-site to produce energy that is then consumed by the reporting company.

Scope 3 (emissions)

All indirect emissions, excluding those included in Scope 2, that result from activities that take place in the organization's value chain, which are not under the direct control corporate but whose emissions are indirectly related to the company's activity.

It includes 15 categories of activities both upstream (such as the purchase of goods and services, capital goods, business travel and employee commuting) both downstream, such as transportation and downstream distribution, the use of products sold and franchising. For example, Scope 3 includes emissions associated with agricultural activities for the production of ingredients for meals sold at the restaurant and emissions resulting from the disposal of packaging waste.

Food security

Food security is the ability to consistently and universally guarantee water and food to meet the energy needs required by the body for survival and life, in adeguate condizioni igieniche. Questa si verifica quando “tutte le persone, in ogni momento, have physical, social, and economic access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food that ensures their food needs and preferences to lead an active and healthy life” (World Food Summit).

Benefit corporations

While traditional companies primarily pursue profit goals, benefit corporations integrate in their own model common benefit purposes aimed at having a long-term positive impact on civil society and the environment. Benefit corporations generate revenue and invest most of their profits into programs or initiatives to promote their sustainable goals.

To become a benefit corporation, a company must meet certain evaluation criteria and adopt a specific legal structure. Additionally, benefit corporations must demonstrate a positive impact on people and the environment.

Food waste

Food waste refers to food fit for consumption but consciously discarded by consumers, or that result from improper storage or preparation practices. Food waste food loss is not the same as food waste (from English food loss), which refers to refers to edible food waste during production, post-harvest, and processing.

Seasonal

Food grown or produced during its natural growing period in the country or region of they come from. Producing seasonal foods means avoiding high energy-intensive processes for cultivation and preservation of products, such as the use of lighting or heating to grow crops or freezers to preserve them. There are two types of seasonality: global or local.

Global seasonality refers to foods grown outdoors or produced during the growing period natural growing period of the country or region they come from, but which are not necessarily consumed where they were grown and which can instead be consumed anywhere in the world. For example, peaches harvested in Chile during their natural growing period, from November to March, which exported and consumed in France, they are globally seasonal in France.

Local seasonality refers to foods produced in the same country or region where they are consumed. For example, French peaches harvested and consumed in France between June and September are seasonal locally.

It is important to note that the environmental impact of seasonally imported foods globally is not not necessarily higher than that of locally produced seasonal foods. The way these products are grown and transported makes a significantly greater difference in their footprint environmental.

Sustainability standard

They are an organization's expectations regarding the social, ethical, and/or environmental impacts of its activity.

Third-party sustainability standard

It is a set of voluntary rules and guidelines that require a defined entity (such as a product, a process, a production method, or an organization) to meet certain criteria social, environmental, and/or economic. "Third-party" means they are developed and managed independently by the producer or manufacturer of the product.

Overall, third-party sustainability standards are created and managed by NGOs or private companies, although some are created by public entities (this is often the case with organic certification). Verification compliance of the entity in question with these voluntary guidelines tends to be carried out by NGOs or by the private company that developed the standard, or by independent auditing firms. Compliance is usually rewarded with a certification.

Today there are hundreds of sustainability standards addressing different sustainability impacts, from environmental protection to fair trade, from animal welfare to performance sustainable in general.

Water stress

Water stress occurs when the demand for water exceeds the available amount in a certain period of time in that place, or when poor quality limits its use. This can lead to decrease in both the quantity of available water and its quality. Agriculture is responsible for most of the freshwater resource use, with 72% of all global water withdrawals. municipalities, households use 16% and industries the remaining 12%.

Traceable

A traceable product is a product for which information is available on where and how it was manufactured, ideally tracing back through every stage of the supply chain.

Regarding traceability in a restaurant's supply chain, the general rule is to achieve maximum transparency, especially when purchasing products associated with social risks and significant environmental impacts (such as beef, soy, cocoa, and coffee). One should therefore try to have a traceability starting from the farm or producer and, if possible, ensuring that this traceability verified by third parties, for example through a recognized certification system.

Vegan

A completely plant-based diet.

Vegetarian

A diet consisting of vegetables, eggs, and dairy, but without meat or seafood.